Polybius

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Polybius

• The Birth of the Republic

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Polybius (204-122 B.C.)

• 338 B.C. The Greeks become subjects of Macedonia
  (Alexander, Aristotles disciple)
• 146 B.C. Greece (a part of Macedonia)is turned
  into a province of the Roman Empire
• A thousand Greek intellectuals deported to Rome
  (held in prison for 17 years, 300 survived).
  Polybius was one of the survivors.
• Through time, Polybius gets acquainted with Roman
  leaders and becomes a friend and ally of Rome
  (participates in military and diplomatic missions)

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Histories

• 40 books (only 5 entirely preserved, plus bits
  and pieces of the others).
• Examines the period in between the Second Punic
  War (219 B.C.) to the Roman conquest of Macedon
  (167 B.C.)
• First universal political history
• Polybius is the first institutionalist
• Romes dominance resulted from Roman political
  institutions, values, and practices.
• Theorist of mixed constitutions and the system
  of checks and balances (precursor of
  Montesquieu and the Federalists)

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The Beginnings

• What are the beginnings I speak of and what is
  the first origin of political societies? When
  owing to floods, famines, failure of crops or
  other such causes there occurs such a destruction
  of the human race as tradition tells us has more
  than once happened, and as we must believe will
  often happen again, all arts and crafts perishing
  at the same time, then in the course of time,
  when springing from the survivors as from seeds
  men have again increased in numbers and just like
  other animals form herds it is a necessary
  consequence that the man who excels in bodily
  strength and in courage will lead and rule over
  the rest. (p. 120) ? Kinship

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(Natural) Cycle
?
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All existing things are subject to decay and
change (126)
Can we avoid political decay?
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• When Democracy degenerates into Mob-Rule, the
  peopleinstitute the rule of violence and
  now uniting their forces massacre, banish, and
  plunder, until they degenerate again into perfect
  savages and find once more a master and
  monarch. Such is the cycle of political
  revolution, the course appointed by nature in
  which constitutions change, disappear, and
  finally return to the point from which they
  started.

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each constitution has a vice

• In kingship it is despotism, in aristocracy
  oligarchy, and in democracy the savage rule of
  violence and it is impossible that each of
  these should not in course of time change into
  its vicious form. (122)

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Fragile Constitutions

• Lycurgus had perfectly well understood that all
  the above changes take place necessarily and
  naturally, and had taken into consideration that
  every variety of constitution which is simple and
  formed on one principle is precarious, as it is
  soon perverted into the corrupt form which is
  proper to it and naturally follows it. (122)

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Lycurgus Solution

• Lycurgus incorporated to the constitution all
  the good and distinctive features of the best
  governments, so that none of the principles
  should grow unduly and be perverted into its
  allied evil, but that, the force of each being
  neutralized by that of the others, neither of
  them should prevail and outbalance another, but
  that the constitution should remain for long in a
  state of equilibrium (p 122)

Checks and balances, stability, strength
Avoidance of Corruption and Decay
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Lycurgus the Romans

• Lycurgus theorized what the Romans did.

One Kingship Consuls
Few Aristocracy The Senate
Many Democracy The People (tribunes)
Religion and superstition (the terrors of hell)
are necessary to stabilize the system
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How is Polybius constitution different from the
U.S.?

• Republican tradition
• Rome
• Macchiavelli
• The Federalist Papers

Does the Republic achieve its promises?
(avoidance of corruption, power equally
distributed) Do you find Polybius analysis still
valid?
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Present theoretical applications of Polybius

• Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri Empire (Harvard
  University Press, 2000)
• New decentered form of global sovereignty that
  gets inspiration in the U.S. constitution and the
  Republican tradition.
• Empire has the form of a Republic